Insurance Premium Pressure: 57% Have Made Financial Sacrifices to Afford Home Insurance

High home insurance rates are straining Americans’ budgets as they enter 2026. A new survey from Insurify found that 59% of policyholders said their costs increased last year, and 57% have made financial sacrifices to help pay for coverage. They’ve cut back on nonessentials (30%), delayed home repairs (22%), and even taken on debt (15%).

In 2025, the average annual cost of home insurance reached $3,017, according to Insurify rate data. And 40% say they spend more on home insurance than they do on other coverages, such as car or health insurance.

Facing unexpected pressure from premiums, more than 1 in 4 homeowners with coverage (28%) say they would drop their home insurance if they could. Doing so, however, could put them in jeopardy of life-changing financial consequences. Additionally, lenders often require insurance before approving a mortgage, meaning many homeowners must continue paying rising costs for coverage.

Some homeowners are so desperate to lower insurance costs that they say they’d trade away consumer protections or privacy for a discount. Specifically, about 30% of homeowners say they would allow their insurer to install and monitor cameras on their property. In contrast, many homeowners are missing out on less invasive ways to save. For example, only about 27% said they’ve researched or compared insurance policies in the past year.

Key findings:

• Nearly 1 in 3 homeowners (28%) say they would drop home insurance altogether if possible.

• More than half of surveyed homeowners (57%) have made sacrifices to afford home insurance, including taking on debt (15%), borrowing from friends/family (12%), and skipping meals (10%).

• Nearly half of homeowners (45%) didn’t consider insurance costs when buying their home.

• To cut their insurance costs in half, 30% would allow insurers to install and monitor internal or external home cameras, and 19% say they would allow surprise drone or in-person home inspections.

As insurance costs rise, 28% of homeowners would drop their home insurance if they could

In recent years, home insurance costs have risen faster than expected due to escalating construction expenses and increasingly severe weather, including natural disasters. In Florida, one of the states with the highest weather risk, homeowners pay an average of nearly $8,500 for annual coverage.

But unlike rising prices for other essentials, consumers often can’t cut back on insurance, as many mortgage lenders require homeowners to carry coverage.^[1] Insurify’s latest survey found that 28% of homeowners would drop their insurance coverage if they could.

Climbing costs are likely playing a role in that decision. Surveyed homeowners were twice as likely to say their home insurance costs went up rather than stayed the same the last time they renewed (59% vs. 29%), while only 7% said their rate decreased.

Most homeowners (60%) expect their costs to continue to go up in 2026. But Gen Z homeowners are relatively optimistic. They’re about twice as likely as the average homeowner to anticipate a cost decrease in 2026 (23% vs. 12%).

Most homeowners (57%) have made financial sacrifices to afford home insurance, including 15% who took on debt

Since mortgage companies typically require that homeowners carry home insurance, they have to look elsewhere when trying to cut down on spending. To help afford their home insurance, nearly 3 in 5 survey respondents (57%) reported making some sort of financial sacrifice, such as delaying home maintenance (22%) or borrowing money from friends and family (12%). About 10% of homeowners said they’ve skipped meals to help afford coverage.

Gen Z (69%) and millennials (68%) are about twice as likely as baby boomers (35%) to say they’ve made financial sacrifices to afford home insurance. They’re six times as likely as baby boomers to have borrowed money from family and friends to help afford insurance.

Insurify’s survey found that 45% of homeowners struggle to afford home insurance. Of that group, 86% have made some sort of financial sacrifice, including one-fourth who have taken on debt (25%).

Some difficulty affording home insurance may come from a lack of due diligence before closing. Nearly half of homeowners (45%) say they didn’t take insurance costs into account when buying their home. By comparison, only 33% didn’t take property taxes into account.

Nearly 1 in 3 homeowners would let insurers monitor home cameras to save on premiums

Most homeowners (68%) report they would give up privacy or consumer protections to cut their insurance costs in half. Nearly 1 in 3 homeowners (30%) would let their insurer install and monitor cameras on their property if doing so came with a 50% discount.

That includes 24% who would let their insurer monitor exterior or doorbell cameras and 14% who would let their insurer install cameras inside the home. In theory, those cameras could help verify claims and alert homeowners and insurers to dangers like theft or fire.

Nearly one quarter (22%) would sign a multi-year contract with high cancellation fees, and 15% say they would give up the right to sue their insurer for a 50% discount on insurance costs. A similar proposal is under consideration in Louisiana, although the amount of the discount has yet to be determined.^[2]

As insurers integrate AI into their business, 22% of homeowners report they would give up human customer service representatives in favor of AI-automated customer service if doing so could cut their insurance costs in half, including 29% of Gen Z.

About 1 in 5 homeowners (19%) would consent to their insurer conducting unscheduled drone or in-person home inspections. In fact, some homeowners have already reported insurers unexpectedly using drones to survey their property.^[3]

Meanwhile, 10% of homeowners would go so far as to get rid of their dog or other pet, which could lower their liability for bite or injury claims, to secure a 50% discount on insurance premiums.

Despite difficulties affording insurance, just 27% of homeowners have shopped around for policies

Although homeowners are willing to make sacrifices to afford home insurance, many haven’t explored less extreme ways of lowering their premiums. For example, just over one quarter of homeowners compared or shopped around for a new policy in 2025. Meanwhile, 24% asked their insurer about discounts or made risk-mitigating home upgrades, such as replacing a roof.

Tips: How to save on home insurance

Insurify’s findings highlight the struggles homeowners face in finding affordable insurance. In fact, 26% of homeowners said securing home insurance was harder than buying their home. Despite these challenges, diligent homeowners can save on insurance costs with a few reliable tactics, including:

• Comparing policies: At renewal time, many homeowners default to renewing their current policy. About 50% of homeowners surveyed said they haven’t even considered switching insurers due to cost. But shopping around for home insurance quotes once or twice each year will improve a homeowner’s chance of finding an affordable policy.

• Making home-hardening upgrades: Improving a home’s ability to stand up to severe weather can make it less of a liability for insurers, and insurance companies sometimes reward those efforts with lower premiums. In California, the Safer From Wildfires program requires insurers to provide discounts for homeowners who make fireproofing home improvements.^[4]

• Asking about discounts: Homeowners shouldn’t underestimate the number of discounts that insurers offer, including discounts for bundling, seniors, security systems, and paying in full, among others.

Methodology

The proprietary data featured in this study comes from an online survey that Insurify commissioned. The survey’s respondents consisted of 1,001 U.S. homeowners aged between 22 and 70 years old. Respondents were asked up to 15 questions about their finances and insurance. The survey fieldwork took place from Nov. 26 to Nov. 28, 2025.

For media inquiries or questions about our study, please contact the author here.